By Abdullah al-Ghadawi
(Zaman Al Wasl)- The Syrian opposition has since the beginning of the Syrian revolution been disappointed by the Russian supportive attitude from the Syrian regime and ignoring the opposition demands in all meeting together.
At the beginning, Burhan Ghalioun met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov in 2011 and it was fruitless, to follow meeting between Russian officials and Abdul Basit Sida and Ahmad Jarba, and in the end, meeting between Lavrov and the former head of the national Coalition, Khalid Khoja this month August, all these meeting ended with no benefit.
The Russian attitude from Syrian opposition kept the same as it continued disabling all the international decisions in the Security council against basher al-Assad, and surrounded the Syrian opposition militarily and politically.
All opposition figures who headed the Syrian National Coalition were transparent in their evaluation to their meetings with the Russian officials, except Moaz al-Khatib who said his famous caption: “the sun could rise from Moscow.”
Russia decided to militarily interfere in Syria, September 2015, to be the sole decision maker in Syria, after the unprecedented weakness of the Syrian regime. the decision relied on advice by Qassem Suleiman, commander of the Iranian al-Quds Legion of the Republican Guards who visited Russia June 2015.
The Russian military interference in Syria had provoked Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar to put their weight in the Syrian crisis, and went to Vienna-1 and Vienna-2 negotiations, after which Lavrov asked for a negotiator of the Syrian opposition represent the whole opposition forces.
Subsequently, Riyadh conference was held in December 2015, where, for the first time the whole opposition forces have a united view and the conference ended in forming the High Negotiation committee headed by Riyadh Hijab, the defected former regime’s prime Minister, to start new era of negotiation supported by verbal international promises that negotiations would be serious and lead to complete resolution to the Syrian crisis.
However, due to the regime’s delegation procrastinations and absence of Russian and American role, all negotiation attempts failed in Geneva, and the main aim was to weaken the role of the High Negotiation Committee.
Later, few partial opposition started visiting Russia and returned its role in Syria, in the same time the role of the High Negotiation committee was ignored and fought, due to its harmony with the National Coalition and all military forces on ground.
Moreover, Russia intensified its strikes on ground to deepen the damage of the negotiation committee, then it enabled the regime of controlling most the area of Aleppo city, but the latest victory of the opposition and managing to break siege over the Eastern part of Aleppo and defeating the Syrian regime, has turned the table over the regime, Russia and Iran, while the roles and the High Negotiation Committee regained its position.
It seems now that Russia is trying to support new opposition bodies to form a new fake formations to rely on, and slowly minimise the role of the High Negotiation Committee. Therefore, this period is the most important for the opposition to show unity and to be able to pass the whole attempts to weaken it.
As the battle now is a battle to keep unity of all opposition forces and their attitude more than fight on ground, which worth lots of sacrifices.
(Zaman Al Wasl)- The Syrian opposition has since the beginning of the Syrian revolution been disappointed by the Russian supportive attitude from the Syrian regime and ignoring the opposition demands in all meeting together.
At the beginning, Burhan Ghalioun met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov in 2011 and it was fruitless, to follow meeting between Russian officials and Abdul Basit Sida and Ahmad Jarba, and in the end, meeting between Lavrov and the former head of the national Coalition, Khalid Khoja this month August, all these meeting ended with no benefit.
The Russian attitude from Syrian opposition kept the same as it continued disabling all the international decisions in the Security council against basher al-Assad, and surrounded the Syrian opposition militarily and politically.
All opposition figures who headed the Syrian National Coalition were transparent in their evaluation to their meetings with the Russian officials, except Moaz al-Khatib who said his famous caption: “the sun could rise from Moscow.”
Russia decided to militarily interfere in Syria, September 2015, to be the sole decision maker in Syria, after the unprecedented weakness of the Syrian regime. the decision relied on advice by Qassem Suleiman, commander of the Iranian al-Quds Legion of the Republican Guards who visited Russia June 2015.
The Russian military interference in Syria had provoked Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar to put their weight in the Syrian crisis, and went to Vienna-1 and Vienna-2 negotiations, after which Lavrov asked for a negotiator of the Syrian opposition represent the whole opposition forces.
Subsequently, Riyadh conference was held in December 2015, where, for the first time the whole opposition forces have a united view and the conference ended in forming the High Negotiation committee headed by Riyadh Hijab, the defected former regime’s prime Minister, to start new era of negotiation supported by verbal international promises that negotiations would be serious and lead to complete resolution to the Syrian crisis.
However, due to the regime’s delegation procrastinations and absence of Russian and American role, all negotiation attempts failed in Geneva, and the main aim was to weaken the role of the High Negotiation Committee.
Later, few partial opposition started visiting Russia and returned its role in Syria, in the same time the role of the High Negotiation committee was ignored and fought, due to its harmony with the National Coalition and all military forces on ground.
Moreover, Russia intensified its strikes on ground to deepen the damage of the negotiation committee, then it enabled the regime of controlling most the area of Aleppo city, but the latest victory of the opposition and managing to break siege over the Eastern part of Aleppo and defeating the Syrian regime, has turned the table over the regime, Russia and Iran, while the roles and the High Negotiation Committee regained its position.
It seems now that Russia is trying to support new opposition bodies to form a new fake formations to rely on, and slowly minimise the role of the High Negotiation Committee. Therefore, this period is the most important for the opposition to show unity and to be able to pass the whole attempts to weaken it.
As the battle now is a battle to keep unity of all opposition forces and their attitude more than fight on ground, which worth lots of sacrifices.
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